We’re all watching the pennies and wanting tips to ski for less at the moment, but we all also need our annual snow holiday fix, so the eternal question of how to ski or snowboard for less has never been more important.
Some people think they can put together the best deal by booking every aspect of their holiday separately – travel, transfers, accommodation, lift pass, rentals… But apart from being an admin nightmare that can take over your life, will they really save money?
The reality is that the package holiday companies can often offer a better deal, as well as a much more secure booking. They have the bulk buying power to drive prices down with travel companies and in resort. They may also have other deals on offer and beyond the price question, they are legally obliged to take responsibility if there are problems on the day of travel.
Take Sunweb for example. They have a unique offer that your lift pass is included in the price of your holiday, which today can be worth as much as £325 if you were to buy a week’s pass yourself for a big resort like the 3 Valleys or Paradiski.
Similarly, some tour operators will allow you to book your ski hire as part of your package, again the buying power of the larger operators like Sunweb allows them to negotiate the best prices with rental shops. Sunweb even includes rentals when you book holidays to France through them as well in their flexible packages.
Flexibility is indeed a big factor in booking through tour operators these days. Gone is the era of essentially booking your flight, transfer, accommodation and resort rep services. These days companies allow you to add, or not, all the different aspects of your ski holiday in a similar way to building a trip independently.
Just more conveniently, affordably and with the safety net of having them to fall back on if you’re unlucky enough for things to go wrong.
The Independent Traveler Route
Airline costs have never been harder to calculate with the initial flight price quoted to get you into the booking bearing little resemblance to what you end up agreeing to when bags, seeds and perhaps speedy boarding you didn’t even think you needed are added on. Then there’s the cost of getting from the airport to your accommodation, sometimes an affordable and convenient bus if your flights are in the middle of the day, others an expensive taxi, especially if your flight is late and you miss the bus. You’ll also need to book your accommodation without having any support if there are problems and organize your lift pass and if needed, equipment rentals, ski school and childcare.
Although your travel insurance can cover some costs if things go wrong there’s usually an excess to pay and lots of hassle filling out forms, finding proof and much more on top of just claiming.
Other Ways To Enjoy A Ski Holiday For Less
Self-catering in an apartment is often the cheapest way to stay, so long as you eat in and don’t dine out. For more of a holiday feeling though consider all-inclusive snow resort accommodation when you know all your food and drink costs are at the price you pay when you book, dramatically cutting your in-resort costs.
However you book your ski holiday, when you decide to travel can make the difference between the same holiday costing £500 or £1500. The lower prices are likely pre-Christmas (but make sure you choose a resort where there’ll definitely be some snow!), in January after New Year’s week, or in April, after the Easter weekend (again, choose a resort where the snow will still be there!).
Choosing a less well-known ski resort, perhaps a smaller ski village linked to a big ski area dominated by a famous resort – for example staying in Samoëns to ski the giant Grand Massif ski region around Flaine or in Vaujanay to ski the 250km of slopes around Alpe d’Huez can work out much cheaper than staying in the better-known resort.
These days you can also rent your skiwear and all the accoutrements in a package that’s usually sent to your home before you travel with a reply-paid package for returning it when you get back. Skiwear rental companies usually supply high-quality equipment that would cost a small fortune to buy, but they rent at much more affordable rates.
The Best Deals
Sunweb is offering a week’s skiing in a top resort for less than £400 per person with destinations including La Plagne and Les Arcs, together making up Paradiski with more than 425km of slopes, and one of the three biggest ski areas in the world. The deal, which also includes your lift pass, also covers Europe’s highest resort Val Thorens, part of the world’s biggest ski area Les 3 Vallees and snow-sure from November to May so a great low-season choice, as well as Avoriaz in the Portes du Soleil and Flaine in the Grand Massif region with its huge 250km of slopes and one of the closest to Geneva. If you’d like to ski in Austria, the deal also extends to the top resort of Mayrhofen, with its own big ski area and home of both the Altitude Comedy Festival and the Snowbombing Music Festival each spring. Remember you’ll also get big savings on your equipment rentals too when you book as part of your package if you also book your flights with Sunweb.
So all in all, fear not, despite everything you can still hit the slopes this year, you just need to make some savvy choices!
sunweb.co.uk/ski
We have a regular Podcast called The White Out where we review the latest gear, talk about the latest snow forecast and updates on where is best to ski now, as well interviews with absolute ski legends AND we spotlight a resort every week and so much more. You can check out our regular podcast here Apple | Spotify | Podcasts or search The White Out on your chosen
